I did not exult when India became a nuclear power
as i feared an arms race with Pakistan

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18 The Indian EXPRESS NORTH AMERICAN NewslineJUNE 27, 2008‘I did not exult when India became a nuclear power as I feared an arms race with Pakistan’DR SHAN (SHANKAR) NAIR, co-founder of Nair & Co is anI believe the Indian American lobby is doing an excep-Oxford University trained PhD nuclear physicist and Chartertional job of promoting business ties between the US and India.Member of TiE-Boston with a background in high-technology,While it is difficult to pin down specific results from specificsoftware and accounting. Nair was recently named as one of the 50initiatives, I believe the lobby's contribution to enabling dealsOutstanding Asian Americans in Business for 2008, an awardto happen is significant. For example, the recent interest ofpresented by the Asian American Business Development Center.foreign companies in setting up manufacturing operations inNair, who has lived in 13 countries in South East Asia, Eu-India to avoid all their eggs being in the China and Vietnamrope and the Middle East, started his career as a research scientistbaskets is a development that the lobby is actively pursuing atin the UK nuclear industry and helped develop a code which setpresent. This is an exciting new avenue for additional US andthat country’s standard for calculating waste from spent nuclearEuropean investment into India.fuel. He was one of the two UK technical experts assisting the Eu-ropean Commission on its post-accident risk assessment of the❚ What are some of the areas that you think offer goodChernobyl nuclear disaster.prospects for India-US cooperation?Once the UK power generation industry was privatized in theBoth countries are democracies and our business culturesearly 1990s, he retrained as an accountant within the industryare very compatible. We could cooperate further in scientificand left to found Nair & Co with his wife, Vyoma, in 1994. and technological R&D, increase our synergistic economic in-The entrepreneur is also responsible for the overall develop-terdependence on each other as a two-way process betweenment of the group’s policies, strategies and goals. He has drivenequals and at a political level act jointly to calm tensions in thethe company's strong focus on using IT to leverage business ad-world, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia.vantage.Nair & Co which specializes in corporate tax compliance in❚ You decided to take up accounting after your stint as a nu-over 40 countries, today has its headquarters in UK and offices inclear scientist, and set up Nair & Co in 1994. Now you run aUSA, China, Japan and India and acts for nearly 700 foreign op-company that specializes in corporate tax compliance. Thaterations in over 40 countries. seems a rather unusual move. In an interview with SUJEET RAJAN, Nair talks about why heI was getting into a rut as a nuclear scientist. I wanted towas never in favor of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, what Indiamake a complete career change and get out of this rut. I be-needs to do to address its energy concerns, and if the ‘death’ of thelieve I have shown that a physicist can generally do anythingnuke deal could prove to be a deterrent in community efforts tohe sets his mind to do!bolster ties between the two countries. Excerpts:❚ Do you miss being a nuclear scientist?❚ The Indo-US civil nuclear deal seems to be dead for now. YouNo. I do not miss being a nuclear scientist although some-were not in favor of the deal from the beginning. Why?times I miss the excitement of doing basic research. The nu-I am not in favor of the deal because it would have severelymerate skills gained in this role have been invaluable in spot-restricted India’s ability to produce fissile material for mili-ting and analyzing business trends.tary purposes without imposing any similar constraints onPakistan or China, both of whom are nuclear powers and with❚ Dr A.Q. Khan is again in the news. His nefarious activities inboth of whom India has boundary disputes. Also the the past continue to confound nuclear experts and give rise towell-established democratic process in India will ensure thatfear of a catastrophe. Did you ever get a chance to interactthe nuclear know-how remains in secure hands unlike thewith him?case in Pakistan. No, I have never known him or indeed wish to meet him.The good news is that it is not easy for a rogue scientist on❚ For the US it is an important deal, financially at least, ashis own to create damage because the fissile materialscompanies here stand to get at least $50 billion in contracts inneeded are hard to get hold of even if you know how to mis-the long run, if it materializes. Is this a serious financial blowuse them. The main risk is of rogue countries with govern-for the US, especially with the country in the throes of a tightments not accountable to their people getting access to thisDr. Shan Nair with his 2008 Outstanding 50 Asian Americanseconomy and tough global competition?technology and materials.in Business Award at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York.India is currently lacking in electricity generating infra-structure, which has failed to keep up with demand. A signifi-this problem although I am not privy to its details. The major is-❚ Let me turn back to business. Your company does corporatecant beefing up of this infrastructure is inevitable. sue is to ensure that the long-term radioactive wastes are heldtax compliance work in more than 40 countries. How do youThere are plenty of opportunities for US companies to bid forin a repository, which cannot affect groundwater. India hasrate India in that area?work on conventional plants. It, therefore, seems unlikely sufficient desert areas to enable it to take care of this problemIndia has a well-established regulatory system and a legalto be a serious financial blow for the US economy taken as aitself when the time arises.system that works and is fair, albeit slower than one would like.whole since the lost nuclear orders could be made to It is at the same level as all of Europe and the US.translate into orders for non-nuclear generating capacity for❚ Did you exult when India became a nuclear power? WhatUS companies. were your ideals for the nation during your time at Oxford get-❚ The Indian government has touted liberalization and trans-ting a PhD in nuclear physics?parency as two of their mantras for doing business in the❚ How is India going to take care of its energy problems a cou-No, I did not exult when India became a nuclear power be-country. Are Indian companies really up there with the top lotple of decades down the road if a civil nuclear deal never ma-cause I feared this would result in an arms race with Pakistan.when it comes to transparency?terializes? Is India doing enough to develop alternate energyMy own ideals were the hope that the nation would realize itsI believe they are up there with the top lot and some Indianresources?true greatness and potential by shaking off the yoke of beingcompanies such as Reliance, Tata and Infosys are standard set-I believe the private sector should be enabled to fill this de-an underdog, instilled in its psyche from the colonial era. I amters. I am also excited to see a crop of new entrepreneurial In-mand and indeed this is already happening in India. A nuclearvery happy to see this ideal being accomplished today in a ma-dian start-up companies emerging in the international arena.power plant has an extremely high capital cost, has a high backjor way both individually by Indians here in the US and in Eu-end nuclear decommissioning and disposal cost spanning arope as well as by India’s emergence as a major economic❚ What are some of the areas where Indian companies need tovery long time period and produces returns over decades of itspower in the world today.improve upon in tax regulations and rules?operational life. By comparison, a conventional plant like a gasI do understand the need for the Indian government toturbine plant has a much lower capital cost and produces re-❚ The Indian American lobby did a lot to push the civil nuclearraise more tax revenue to reduce the budget deficit. However,turns for investors over a decade or so. It is therefore unlikelydeal through, apart from the efforts of the Indian governmenttoo aggressive an approach by the regulators can kill the goosethat the private sector in India would find it attractive to buildand embassy officials here. Do you see the failure of this ini-that lays the golden eggs. I believe reducing corporate taxesnuclear power plants. The government's ability to step in andtiative, even though the lobby is not at fault, as a dampener onmay actually increase the tax take. Also increasing the speeddo this is in any case limited by its budget deficit.future bipartisan efforts by the community to enhance Indo-of processing regulatory applications to, say, Hong Kong andUS relations?Singapore levels of response could make the environment❚ Disposing of nuclear waste is a contentious subject. In yourNo, I do not see this as a dampener. We are about to have amuch more business friendly and encourage more inward in-earlier work as a scientist in the UK nuclear industry, you hadnew president in this country and there is a lot to play for. Thevestment into India. These are just some areas that could behelped develop a code which set the country’s standard forUS and India are both great democracies and our interests areactioned quickly.calculating waste from spent nuclear field. Later, you were oneconverging.of two UK technical experts assisting the European Commis-❚ Your father was a diplomat and you have lived in 13 coun-sion on the post-Chernobyl accident response. What is your❚ Is the Indian American lobby doing enough to promote busi-tries. You have now spent considerable time in the West, butassessment of India’s readiness to dispose of nuclear waste onness ties between the two countries? There are a lot of busi-have ties to Kerala from where you are originally from. Woulda larger scale?ness organizations now and more and more American politi-you consider moving back to India given the economic stridesI believe India’s nuclear industry is not large and oldcians and corporate honchos are doing the rounds of India tothe country is making? If not, why?enough and the high-level waste disposal problem not severegauge business prospects and invite collaborations. HowYes, I would consider moving back to India in the rightenough to have hit this problem in a major way as yet. Never-much of this is really translating to real business deals at thebusiness circumstances. However, the cost of property in Indiatheless I feel sure that a policy must being evolved to deal withend of the day?today is an inhibitor. N O R T H A M E R I C A N E D I T I O N

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I did not exult when India became a nuclear power as i feared an arms race with Pakistan

Once the UK power generation industry was privatized in the early 1990s, he retrained as an accountant within the industry and left to found Nair & Co with his wife, Vyoma, in 1994. The entrepreneur is also responsible for the overall development of the group’s policies, strategies and goals. He has driven the company's strong focus on using IT to leverage business advantage.

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